Shane Conaway, Jimmy Vernon, Sarah Martin, Callie Ewen ----
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Who are the Taliban?The Taliban are a Sunni Muslim movement prominently comprised by people of Pashtun ethnicity whose leaders practice Wahhabism. The word “Taliban” is derived from the Arabic word talib, which means student. The name makes sense, since the Taliban at first consisted only of conservative religious students. The Taliban were able to take control of Afghanistan in 1996, but were overthrown by U.S. military forces in 2001.
Who is the Taliban Leader?The Taliban was founded by Mullah Mohammed Omar, who started his movement with less than 50 Taliban. There are two stories explaining how the Omar lead the Taliban to notoriety. The first being the rape and murder of boys and girls from a family traveling to Kandahar by Mujahideen bandits, which prompted Omar to vow to eliminate these criminals. The second story being the Pakistan-based truck shipping mafia known as the "Afghanistan Transit Trade" and their allies in the Pakistan government, trained, armed, and financed the Taliban to clear the southern road across Afghanistan to the Central Asian Republics of extortionate bandit gangs. Omar received his recruits from madrassahs, schools which taught Islamic theology and religious law. Taliban vs. Al-QaedaWhile the Taliban are heavily trained in religion and seek to simply take back Afghanistan, the al-Qaeda receive less religious training and aim to wage a world wide jihad, (struggle). The Taliban were founded by Mohammed Omar and Al-Qaeda was founded by Osama bin laden. The Taliban believed more in Sharia, Islamic law, while Al-Qaeda’s origins can be traced to the writings of Sayyib Qutb.
How Did the Taliban Take Control?
Groups of taliban ("religious students") were loosely organized on a regional basis during the occupation and civil war. Although they represented a potentially huge force, they didn't emerge as a united entity until the taliban of Kandahar made their move in 1994. In late 1994, a group of well-trained taliban were chosen by Pakistan to protect a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia. They proved an able force, fighting off rival mujahideen and warlords. The taliban then went on to take the city of Kandahar, beginning a surprising advance that ended with their capture of Kabul in September 1996.
Many Afghans, weary of conflict and anarchy, were relieved to see corrupt and often brutal warlords replaced by the devout Taliban, who had some success in eliminating corruption, restoring peace, and allowing commerce to resume. The Taliban, under the direction of Mullah Muhammad Omar, brought about this order through the institution of a very strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Public executions and punishments (such as floggings) became regular events at Afghan soccer stadiums. Frivolous activities, like kite-flying, were outlawed. In order to root out "non-Islamic" influence, television, music, and the Internet were banned. Men were required to wear beards, and subjected to beatings if they didn't. One act in particular, the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, seemed to symbolize the intolerance of the regime. The feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice authorized the use of force to uphold bans on un-Islamic activities.
Rules Under Taliban ControlBasic Rules For All Citizens Banned listening to music, not only for women but men as well.
- Banned the watching of movies, television and videos, for everyone.
- Banned celebrating the traditional new year (Nowroz) on March 21. The Taliban has proclaimed the holiday un-Islamic.
- Disavowed Labor Day (May 1st), because it is deemed a "communist" holiday.
- Ordered that all people with non-Islamic names change them to Islamic ones.
- Forced haircuts upon Afghan youth.
- Ordered that men wear Islamic clothes and a cap.
- Ordered that men not shave or trim their beards, which should grow long enough to protrude from a fist clasped at the point of the chin.
- Ordered that all people attend prayers in mosques five times daily.
- Banned the keeping of pigeons and playing with the birds, describing it as un-Islamic. The violators will be imprisoned and the birds shall be killed. The kite flying has also been stopped.
- Ordered all onlookers, while encouraging the sportsmen, to chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) and refrain from clapping.
- Ban on certain games including kite flying which is "un-Islamic" according to Taliban.
- Anyone who carries objectionable literature will be executed.
- Anyone who converts from Islam to any other religion will be executed.
- All boy by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.
Rules For Afghani Women 1- Complete ban on women's work outside the home, which also applies to female teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses are allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul.
2- Complete ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative such as a father, brother or husband).
3- Ban on women dealing with male shopkeepers.
4- Ban on women being treated by male doctors.
5- Ban on women studying at schools, universities or any other educational institution. (Taliban have converted girls' schools into religious seminaries.)
6- Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to toe.
7- Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram.
8- Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles.
9- Public stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers are stoned to death under this rule).
10- Ban on the use of cosmetics. (Many women with painted nails have had fingers cut off).
11- Ban on women talking or shaking hands with non- mahram males.
12- Ban on women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman's voice).
13- Ban on women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man must not hear a woman's footsteps.)
14- Ban on women riding in a taxi without a mahram.
15- Ban on women's presence in radio, television or public gatherings of any kind.
16- Ban on women playing sports or entering a sport center or club.
17- Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams .
18- Ban on women's wearing brightly colored clothes. In Taliban terms, these are "sexually attracting colors."
19- Ban on women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational purpose.
20- Ban on women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place.
21- Modification of all place names including the word "women." For example, "women's garden" has been renamed "spring garden".
22- Ban on women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses.
23- Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can not be seen from outside their homes.
24- Ban on male tailors taking women's measurements or sewing women's clothes.
25- Ban on female public baths.
26- Ban on males and females traveling on the same bus. Public buses have now been designated "males only" (or "females only").
27- Ban on flared (wide) pant-legs, even under a burqa.
28- Ban on the photographing or filming of women.
29- Ban on women's pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops.
Punishements Faced When Breaking The Rules
In October 1996, a woman had the tip of her thumb cut off for wearing nail varnish. In December 1996, Radio Shari’a announced that 225 Kabul women had been seized and punished for violating the sharia code of dress. The sentence was handed down by a tribunal and the women were lashed on their legs and backs for their misdemeanor. In May 1997, five female CARE International employees with authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior to conduct research for an emergency feeding programme were forced from their vehicle by members of the religious police. The guards used a public address system to insult and harass the women before striking them with a metal and leather whip over 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet) in length.
Connections To The Book
Amir upon returning to Taliban occupied Afghanistan was forced to wear a fake beard in order to conceal the fact that he had shaved his off this was against taliban policy Amir also didn't want Soroya to accompany him to get Hassan's son, because he knew of all of the trouble she would have to go through because of the Taliban's descrimination against women.
Another connection to the book would be the public punishment that took place within the Soccer stadium in Kabul. This shows how the Taliban used punishment as a public spectacle.
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Taliban Today
In 2008, after more than five years as Afghanistan's leader, President Hamid Karzai still has only marginal control over large swaths of his country, which is rife with warlords, militants, and drug smugglers. The Taliban now funds its insurgency through the drug trade. An August 2007 report by the United Nations found that Afghanistan's opium production doubled in two years and that the country supplies 93% of the world's heroin.
In mid-2009 the Taliban released a manual on the proper treatment of prisoners, and issued guidance on limiting civilian casualties when attacking coalition forces. Analysts say the manual is meant to help renew popular support among the Afghan public while legitimizing its often brutal tactics. "This is part of their strategic thinking
Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, was killed by a C.I.A. drone strike in August 2009 in South Waziristan, a remote region of the country. He was blamed for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, and dozens of other suicide bombings. Despite his death, the Taliban continued its resurgence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009. In fact, the Taliban was blamed for the violence that led up to August's presidential election in Afghanistan, an apparent attempt to disrupt the elections and further destabilize the country.
Conclusion
The Taliban considered their actions as consistent with the notion of the greater Jihad.
. They sought to purify their land by fighting those whom they considered less devout than themselves.
Taliban In Control
Shane Conaway, Jimmy Vernon, Sarah Martin, Callie Ewen ----
Who are the Taliban? The Taliban are a Sunni Muslim movement prominently comprised by people of Pashtun ethnicity whose leaders practice Wahhabism. The word “Taliban” is derived from the Arabic word talib, which means student. The name makes sense, since the Taliban at first consisted only of conservative religious students. The Taliban were able to take control of Afghanistan in 1996, but were overthrown by U.S. military forces in 2001.
How Did the Taliban Take Control?
Groups of taliban ("religious students") were loosely organized on a regional basis during the occupation and civil war. Although they represented a potentially huge force, they didn't emerge as a united entity until the taliban of Kandahar made their move in 1994. In late 1994, a group of well-trained taliban were chosen by Pakistan to protect a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia. They proved an able force, fighting off rival mujahideen and warlords. The taliban then went on to take the city of Kandahar, beginning a surprising advance that ended with their capture of Kabul in September 1996.
Many Afghans, weary of conflict and anarchy, were relieved to see corrupt and often brutal warlords replaced by the devout Taliban, who had some success in eliminating corruption, restoring peace, and allowing commerce to resume. The Taliban, under the direction of Mullah Muhammad Omar, brought about this order through the institution of a very strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Public executions and punishments (such as floggings) became regular events at Afghan soccer stadiums. Frivolous activities, like kite-flying, were outlawed. In order to root out "non-Islamic" influence, television, music, and the Internet were banned. Men were required to wear beards, and subjected to beatings if they didn't. One act in particular, the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, seemed to symbolize the intolerance of the regime. The feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice authorized the use of force to uphold bans on un-Islamic activities.
Rules Under Taliban ControlBasic Rules For All Citizens
Banned listening to music, not only for women but men as well.
- Banned the watching of movies, television and videos, for everyone.
- Banned celebrating the traditional new year (Nowroz) on March 21. The Taliban has proclaimed the holiday un-Islamic.
- Disavowed Labor Day (May 1st), because it is deemed a "communist" holiday.
- Ordered that all people with non-Islamic names change them to Islamic ones.
- Forced haircuts upon Afghan youth.
- Ordered that men wear Islamic clothes and a cap.
- Ordered that men not shave or trim their beards, which should grow long enough to protrude from a fist clasped at the point of the chin.
- Ordered that all people attend prayers in mosques five times daily.
- Banned the keeping of pigeons and playing with the birds, describing it as un-Islamic. The violators will be imprisoned and the birds shall be killed. The kite flying has also been stopped.
- Ordered all onlookers, while encouraging the sportsmen, to chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) and refrain from clapping.
- Ban on certain games including kite flying which is "un-Islamic" according to Taliban.
- Anyone who carries objectionable literature will be executed.
- Anyone who converts from Islam to any other religion will be executed.
- All boy by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.
Rules For Afghani Women
1- Complete ban on women's work outside the home, which also applies to female teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses are allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul.
2- Complete ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative such as a father, brother or husband).
3- Ban on women dealing with male shopkeepers.
4- Ban on women being treated by male doctors.
5- Ban on women studying at schools, universities or any other educational institution. (Taliban have converted girls' schools into religious seminaries.)
6- Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to toe.
7- Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram.
8- Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles.
9- Public stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers are stoned to death under this rule).
10- Ban on the use of cosmetics. (Many women with painted nails have had fingers cut off).
11- Ban on women talking or shaking hands with non- mahram males.
12- Ban on women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman's voice).
13- Ban on women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man must not hear a woman's footsteps.)
14- Ban on women riding in a taxi without a mahram.
15- Ban on women's presence in radio, television or public gatherings of any kind.
16- Ban on women playing sports or entering a sport center or club.
17- Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams .
18- Ban on women's wearing brightly colored clothes. In Taliban terms, these are "sexually attracting colors."
19- Ban on women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational purpose.
20- Ban on women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place.
21- Modification of all place names including the word "women." For example, "women's garden" has been renamed "spring garden".
22- Ban on women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses.
23- Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can not be seen from outside their homes.
24- Ban on male tailors taking women's measurements or sewing women's clothes.
25- Ban on female public baths.
26- Ban on males and females traveling on the same bus. Public buses have now been designated "males only" (or "females only").
27- Ban on flared (wide) pant-legs, even under a burqa.
28- Ban on the photographing or filming of women.
29- Ban on women's pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops.
Punishements Faced When Breaking The Rules
In October 1996, a woman had the tip of her thumb cut off for wearing nail varnish. In December 1996, Radio Shari’a announced that 225 Kabul women had been seized and punished for violating the sharia code of dress. The sentence was handed down by a tribunal and the women were lashed on their legs and backs for their misdemeanor. In May 1997, five female CARE International employees with authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior to conduct research for an emergency feeding programme were forced from their vehicle by members of the religious police. The guards used a public address system to insult and harass the women before striking them with a metal and leather whip over 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet) in length.
Connections To The Book
Amir upon returning to Taliban occupied Afghanistan was forced to wear a fake beard in order to conceal the fact that he had shaved his off this was against taliban policy Amir also didn't want Soroya to accompany him to get Hassan's son, because he knew of all of the trouble she would have to go through because of the Taliban's descrimination against women.
Another connection to the book would be the public punishment that took place within the Soccer stadium in Kabul. This shows how the Taliban used punishment as a public spectacle.
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Taliban TodayIn 2008, after more than five years as Afghanistan's leader, President Hamid Karzai still has only marginal control over large swaths of his country, which is rife with warlords, militants, and drug smugglers. The Taliban now funds its insurgency through the drug trade. An August 2007 report by the United Nations found that Afghanistan's opium production doubled in two years and that the country supplies 93% of the world's heroin.
In mid-2009 the Taliban released a manual on the proper treatment of prisoners, and issued guidance on limiting civilian casualties when attacking coalition forces. Analysts say the manual is meant to help renew popular support among the Afghan public while legitimizing its often brutal tactics. "This is part of their strategic thinking
Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, was killed by a C.I.A. drone strike in August 2009 in South Waziristan, a remote region of the country. He was blamed for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, and dozens of other suicide bombings. Despite his death, the Taliban continued its resurgence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009. In fact, the Taliban was blamed for the violence that led up to August's presidential election in Afghanistan, an apparent attempt to disrupt the elections and further destabilize the country.
Conclusion
The Taliban considered their actions as consistent with the notion of the greater Jihad.
. They sought to purify their land by fighting those whom they considered less devout than themselves.
Bibliographies
Entessar, N . (1998). The Taliban: War, religion and the new order in Afghanistan - Marsden, http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html
Ellis, G. Afghanistan Today 2009 hazara.net
http://www.hazara.net/taliban/taliban.html
Richards, L. 2008
http://afghantribes.com/